A 14-year-old boy suspected of planning a series of bombings in Vienna
reportedly offered $25,000 (£16,000) by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
to carry out attacks

The Graben is one of the most famous streets in Vienna's city centrePhoto: Rex Features

By Justin Huggler, Berlin

8:18PM GMT 30 Oct 2014

A 14-year-old boy suspected of planning a series of bombings in Vienna was reported on Thursday to have been offered $25,000 (£16,000) by theIslamic State of Iraq and the Levant(Isil) to carry out the attacks amid claims that two other youths recruited in the same way remain at large.

The arrested youth has not been named by authorities, but has been identified by the Austrian media as Mertkan G, the son of Turkish immigrants, who has lived in the country for eight years. He was arrested on Tuesday but details are only now emerging about his case.

Among the sites in which he has admitted planning to plant explosives is Vienna's Westbahnhof station, one of the busiest in the country, used by 40,000 travellers each day.

Austrian officials have refused to comment on reports that he was recruited over the internet by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and promised a payment for carrying out the bombings. But a spokesman for prosecutors said that the 14-year-old was in touch with "various different contacts".

He had confessed to planning to plant a series of bombs in crowded areas around Vienna, said Michaela Obenaus, a spokesman for the prosecutors' office in the boy's home city of St Pölten.

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Despite his youth, he reportedly reconnoitred potential target sites "like a professional". He is not believed to have built any bombs by the time of his arrest, but he had researched bomb-making extensively on the internet, and made specific inquiries about purchasing certain parts.

The Austrian authorities have spoken only of "unconventional explosive devices", but, according to local media reports, he was planning to build improvised cluster bombs similar to those used in the 2013 Boston marathon bombings.

It appears he was not planning a suicide attack: he has reportedly confessed that he wanted to travel to Syria to fight alongside jihadist groups there, and saw a successful bombing campaign as his ticket to join.

A report in Kronen Zeitung newspaper claimed that he was actively recruited over the internet by Isil and promised a "special position" as a reward for carrying out the bombings, as well as the payment of $25,000. The newspaper claimed that two other youths were recruited to carry out attacks in similar fashion and remained at large.

But other local newspapers reported that Austrian investigators believed Mertkan G may have been a so-called "lone wolf", working entirely on his own. The boy, who lived with his parents in St Pölten, a small city not far from Vienna, was known locally for speaking out in favour of Isil and other jihadist groups, but the reports said his friends did not take him seriously.

His plans were reportedly uncovered after concerned teachers at his school contacted police to say he had been speaking threateningly. After that, Austrian intelligence began monitoring his internet activity. He has been remanded in custody while investigations continue.